Jean-Luc Picard
"I've never known anyone with more drive, determination or more courage than Jean-Luc Picard." - J.P. Hanson, 2367 Jean-Luc Picard was a celebrated Starfleet officer, archaeologist and diplomat who served during the latter half of the 24th century. The highlights of his career were centered around assignments as commanding officer of the Federation starships: USS Stargazer, USS Enterprise-D, and the USS Enterprise-E. In these roles, Picard not only witnessed the major turning points of recent galactic history, but played a key role in them also, from making First Contact as captain of the Federation's flagship with no fewer than 27 alien species, including the Ferengi and the Borg, as well as becoming the chief contact point with the Q Continuum, to serving as Arbiter of Succession- where he presided over the investiture of Chancellor Gowron, and exposing the Romulan Star Empire as backers of his chief rivals, later aiding an underground movement of dissidents to gain a toehold on the Romulan homeworld. He continued to serve as captain of the Enterprise-E, the sixth starship to bear the name, to this day. Biography Childhood Jean-Luc Picard was born in La Barre, France on Earth to Maurice and Yvette Picard on July 13, 2305. He and his elder brother, Robert, spent their childhood tending to their family vineyards with their father. Concerned about the preservation of their familial values, Maurice and his wife, educated their sons in the ancient traditions, avoiding in particular any superfluous technologies. As a child, Jean-Luc took piano lessons, but eventually gave it up because he dreaded performing in front of an audience. In his later life, he would regret doing so because his playing used to please his mother. As a child, Jean-Luc dreamed of adventure and exploration. He was fond of starships, of which he liked to build models. Moreover, he was captivated by the Phoenix, the first Human warp-capable starship, which he admired several times at the Smithsonian Institution. Like his nephew René, Jean-Luc wrote a ribbon-winning report on starships. Academy Years Jean-Luc caused "quite a stir" by leaving his family's generational vineyard and applying to Starfleet Academy. Although he failed to gain entry on his first attempt, Picard succeeded in his second attempt in 2323. He subsequently became one of the most outstanding cadets in his class. Picard's career at the Academy was difficult, at best – years later, Picard credited Academy groundskeeper Boothby with helping him develop a mature attitude. Among Picard's friends at the Academy were Donald Varley, Cortan Zweller, Marta Batanides, and an acquaintance called "A.F.", whom he blamed for his failed semester of Organic Chemistry and whose initials Picard carved into Boothby's prized elm. At the Academy, Picard developed an interest in archaeology. His professor, Richard Galen, encouraged him to continue in this field, but Picard ultimately refused his offer of becoming an archaeologist. Picard also excelled in sports. He won the Starfleet Academy marathon in April 2323 on Danula II, becoming the first freshman to win the race. During a wrestling match, Picard caught a Ligonian with a reverse body lift and pinned him down in the first fourteen seconds. During his sophomore year, Picard was assigned to training on Morikin VII where he had his first encounter with Nausicaans, who had an outpost on a nearby asteroid. Early Starfleet Career Shortly upon graduation in 2327, Picard's promising career nearly ended abruptly during a layover at Starbase Earhart. During a bar brawl over a rigged game of dom-jot, he was stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan, and had to undergo emergency surgery to replace his heart. He later related to Wesley Crusher that he laughed after looking down to see the knife protruding through his chest. This event helped him realize how fragile life could be, and thus made him more willing to take risks and make his mark on the universe, which he only realized when Q proposed him to change this event in 2369. Picard demonstrated command abilities early in his career, in particular when he led an away team on Milika III to save an ambassador. This incident would later be mentioned by Q as one of the crucial events forming Picard's personality. As a young lieutenant, Picard attended the wedding of Sarek's son where he briefly met Sarek and Spock for the first and only time before the 2360s. Aboard the Stargazer Picard was assigned as a flight controller aboard the USS Stargazer. In 2333, as a lieutenant commander, he assumed command of the vessel when the captain was killed on the bridge. Starfleet awarded Picard a promotion to the post of captain, making him one of the youngest Starfleet officers ever to attain the position. Picard remained in command of the Stargazer for twenty-two years. During the Cardassian wars, the Stargazer was involved in a truce offering by the Federation. After making contact with a Cardassian warship, Picard lowered the ship's shields as a gesture of good will, but the Cardassian commander ignored the gesture and disabled the Stargazer's weapons and impulse engines. The Stargazer managed to regroup and flee. In 2354, Picard was on an away mission when he saved the life of one team member at the expense of another; Jack Crusher was lost in the line of duty. Picard met with Crusher's widow, Beverly, on Starbase 32 to present the body; it was one of Wesley Crusher's earliest memories. In 2355, the Stargazer was seriously damaged in a battle with an unknown enemy vessel, later discovered to be a Ferengi ship. Picard managed to destroy the enemy vessel using the Stargazer's warp engines in a unique tactical maneuver (later named the "Picard Maneuver"), but was forced to abandon the Stargazer. His actions during the battle were called into question by Starfleet prosecutor Phillipa Louvois, but he was exonerated by the inquiry board and was later awarded with the Grankite Order of Tactics (Class of Excellence) for the development of the Picard Maneuver. The encounter with the Ferengi vessel, later known as the Battle of Maxia, eventually came back to haunt Picard. DaiMon Bok, whose son was killed during the battle, twice tried to exact revenge on Picard. Captain of the Enterprise In 2364, Picard was assigned command of the newly-commissioned Galaxy Class starship USS Enterprise-D, the most prestigious captaincy in Starfleet. He commanded the flagship for seven years, participating in many important missions. Among these were the defeat of the Borg invasions of 2366 and 2369, and his command of the fleet which blockaded the Klingon-Romulan border during the Klingon Civil War. Picard hand-picked most of his senior staff, such as two young officers who impressed him enough upon first meeting. Geordi La Forge once piloted Picard's inspection tour shuttle and stayed up all night to refit an engine part Picard had made a passing comment on, and Picard witnessed Natasha Yar risk her life to save colonists amid a Carnelian minefield. He had also picked William T. Riker as his first officer and promoted him to commander sight unseen, impressed by the young officer's record of independence. Mere months upon taking command, Picard was offered a promotion to commandant of Starfleet Academy with the rank of admiral by Admiral Gregory Quinn, but turned it down to retain command of the Enterprise. In 2369, when the Enterprise was undergoing a baryon sweep at the Remmler Array, Picard uncovered a plan, by mercenaries, to steal toxic waste from the ship's warp core. He managed to take out all of the intruders by setting traps throughout the various sections of the ship. He even used the Vulcan nerve pinch technique on one of them. In 2371, the USS Enterprise-D was lost over Veridian III, with the vessel's primary hull crash-landing on the planet's surface. Picard also met the legendary James T. Kirk while in the Nexus with him, and recruited him in defeating and killing Dr. Tolian Soran before he could have the chance to destroy the Veridian system. There were no fatalities, and most of the ship's senior crew was reassigned to the USS Enterprise-E, the sixth Federation starship to bear the name. Picard was installed as commanding officer and given a new authorization code: "Picard-4-7-alpha-tango." After a one-year shakedown cruise, the new Enterprise was nearly lost when the senior staff decided to sacrifice the ship in order to save Earth's future by preventing the Borg on board from changing history. Fortunately, the crew was able to repel the Borg attempt without having to destroy the Enterprise. Two years later, in 2375, Picard ordered the Enterprise-E to the Ba'ku homeworld in the Briar Patch when it appeared that his operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, had malfunctioned and assaulted members of the research team there. Picard was able to capture Data and uncovered a plot by Admiral Matthew Dougherty, the Son'a and some in the Federation Council to relocate the Ba'ku against their will. Picard rebelled against Dougherty, bringing word of his actions to the public. Picard was able to protect the Ba'ku and stop Son'a leader Ru'afo from destroying the Ba'ku's homeworld. Category:Human Characters Category:Starfleet Characters Category:Non Playable Characters